MaXXXine (2024) – Review

Quick Thoughts – Grade – B – MaXXXine ditches the rural Texas settings and immerses itself in the grime and glitz of 1985 Los Angeles. The new location is welcome and there’s enjoyment to be had watching Maxine battle old demons and beat up Kevin Bacon. 

One of the most pleasant surprises of recent years is the release of Ti West’s X trilogy made up of X, Pearl and MaXXXine. Taking place in 1979, 1918, and 1985, the Mia Goth (who also co-wrote Pearl) starring films have offered up some truly delightful gore, laughs and alligator action. X and Pearl were pleasant surprises that built up massive expectations for MaXXXine, which doesn’t have the luxury of being a surprise film (Pearl) or an under-the-radar A24 movie filmed in New Zealand during the pandemic.  While the reviews so far have been mixed, I’ve found myself appreciating the movie more since my screening several days ago because of the evolution of Maxine Minx. 

Maxine is now living in Los Angeles and has become a famous adult film star who dreams of breaking into Hollywood. The film opens with her nailing an audition for a prestige horror movie sequel directed by Elizabether Bender (Elizabeth Debicki), and then she’s followed around as she drives her 1985 Mercedes-Benz 380SL convertible around town to her various jobs at peep shows and adult film shoots. This isn’t the young and naive Maxine you remember from X. In MaXXXine, she’s become a badass 33-year old who when cornered by a creepy actor dressed as Buster Keaton, pulls out a gun and makes sure the buster will always remember her (and have to go to the hospital). Maxine is still haunted from the events in 1979, and they come back to haunt her during rehearsals, set visits, and pretty much every waking minute of her life. Her antics on the Texas farm really come back to terrorize her when a VHS tape of the movie she filmed on the farm is delivered to her apartment. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between Maxine, a private detective named John Labat (Kevin Bacon), and a serial killer who kills Maxine’s associates in ways similar to the infamous Night Stalker who stalked Los Angeles between 1984 and 1985. Spoiling more of the plot wouldn’t be cool, just know that Giancarlo Esposito (who might be the MVP of the movie), Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale also pop up and make the most of their roles. 

Filmed in a quick seven weeks in Los Angeles, Ti West decided to give the film a bigger scope so that the films didn’t repeat themselves. The bigger scope means less of a laser focus on characters, but I’m happy that this isn’t another Texas Chainsaw Massacre homage. X is about an indie film crew shooting a porno on a secluded farm, and Pearl is about the debilitating mental state of a woman who lives on a secluded farm. MaXXXine is about a woman who has entrenched herself in the Los Angeles film industry, so the film naturally has more scope as Maxine finds herself in movie studios, large mansions, and dingy apartments. Also, Maxine was hunted in X, and Pearl went insane in Pearl, so it’s nice watching Maxine become the hunter when her past comes back to haunt her. At first I wasn’t a fan of the expanded world, but I’ve grown to appreciate the film more because it allows Maxine to own the situation and finally become famous.